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Some active-duty majors and lieutenant colonels will meet a broadened selective early retirement board between June 16 and July 4, the Air Force said.

In a Jan. 3 release, the Air Force Personnel Center said the so-called enhanced SERB, or E-SERB, will consider lieutenant colonels in the biomedical science corps and medical services corps categories who have been passed over for promotion once as of June 16, and majors in the line of the Air Force, LAF-judge advocate, biomedical science corps, medical services corps and nurse corps.

The E-SERB is one of 18 voluntary and involuntary force management programs the Air Force is rolling out this year to help it reduce the ranks and deal with across-the-board budget cuts known as the sequester. The E-SERB is a new authority, granted in the fiscal 2013 National Defense Authorization Act, that will consider even more officers than under the regular SERB process.

Officers who are at risk of meeting the board but do not want to can apply for voluntary retirement between Jan. 14 and May 16, AFPC said, and they will be told whether their application was accepted by May 30. They will be able to use other force management programs, such as the limited active-duty service commitment waiver, to be able to retire no later than Jan. 1, 2015.

However, an officer who voluntarily retires to avoid meeting the board will forfeit and have to repay any Post-9/11 GI Bill Benefits he has transferred to a family member, unless he has already fulfilled his service obligation for the GI Bill. Officers who are selected for retirement by the board will not have to repay those funds.

The Air Force plans to notify by Jan. 29 officers who will be considered by the board. Those officers will find out whether they will stay or be required to retire in August or September. Those who are not retained must retire on Dec. 1.

A document the Air Force released last month summarizing the various force management programs said the E-SERB will also consider colonels with two but less than four years time-in-grade, as well as other active-duty officers from the ranks of captain through colonel.

AFPC’s Jan. 3 release and a Dec. 23 Air Force memo on the E-SERBs do not detail plans for boards for other officers. AFPC was unable to immediately answer an Air Force Times request for details on the other board plans.

AFPC also began notifying some enlisted airmen as early as Jan. 6 that they may be considered for separation by a Quality Force Review Board. That board will consider separating enlisted airmen up to the rank of senior master sergeant with negative quality indicator codes. AFPC was not able to say immediately how many airmen had received quality board notices.